A DEDICATION
TO SPINOZA'S INSIGHTS
Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)
was a Jewish-Portuguese-Dutch Philosopher.
Spinoza's insights
help evolve all
Religions to a Universal
Religion.
Just as the Hebrew
Bible was the Constitution
of the then Hebrew State,
so the World Bible will
be the Constitution of the to-be World
State.
Joseph B. Yesselman's Home Page
Introduction—Purpose
- Spinozistic Ideas
- Mark Twain and Spinoza
JBY Web Pages -
Spinozistic Glossary and Index -
Wikipedia
Contributions
Spinoza Electronic Texts &
eBooks - Elwes's
Introduction - Link and Endnote
Search
Spinoza Internet Web Sites
- Durant's Tribute -
Graetz's Censure - Topics
& Threads
Browser Notes—Use 800
x 600 resolution and medium size
text for all pages.
Kindly tell
me of any broken links.
Spinoza defined "sorrow, boredom, joy" with one
definition.
You TRY—it's difficult, but enlightening.
The more you try,
the more will the insight's beauty
delight you.
E3:Preface(12)
E-mail your definition of "sorrow, boredom, joy".
josephb@yesselman.com
Caution: words such as "panic, anguish, displeased,
bored, pleased,
delight, elation" are properties
not definitions. Try
for the cause;
the measuring
yardstick. G:Note
1 , < E1:Parkinson:2601
>
You TRY—it's difficult, but enlightening.
It is harder than defining
"sorrow... joy." The more you try, the more
will the insight's beauty
E3:Preface(12)
delight you.
E-mail your definition of "hate, indifference, love".
josephb@yesselman.com
Caution again: words such as
"hate, despise, dislike, indifferent,
like, fond, love" are properties
not definitions. Try
for the cause;
the measuring
yardstick. G:Note
1 , < E1:Parkinson:2601
>
Spinoza defined
the terms "perfection"; "sorrow-boredom-joy";
"hate-indifference-love"
by their causes;
not by their properties.
G:Note 1 ,
< E1:Parkinson:2601
> , Calculus Format.
The above terms are respectively analogous to
"distance", "velocity", and "acceleration".
| °DISTANCE | °PERPETUATION (°P) = | °PERFECTION (°P) |
| °VELOCITY | °EMOTION C:Fig.1(a), James = | °SORROW...BOREDOM...°JOY |
| °ACCELERATION | °FAITH C:Fig.1(b) = | °HATE...INDIFFERENCE...°LOVE |
Expressed in Calculus
Table 1 - The Key
to Understanding °EMOTION & °FAITH
Life's Roller Coaster
Mull
over this table carefully. Chapters
of Spinoza's insights are embedded.
E-mail for Table 1 clarification request, suggestion, or disagreement.
Spinoza is not to be read, he is to be
studied; you must approach
him as you would approach Euclid, recognizing
that in these brief two hundred pages a man has written down his lifetime's
thought with stoic sculptory of everything superfluous.
Do not think to find its core by running over it rapidly....
Read the book not all at once but in small portions
at many sittings. And having
finished it, consider that you have but begun to understand it. Read then
some commentary, like Pollock's
Spinoza, or Martineau's Study of Spinoza, or; better, both.
Finally, read the Ethics
again; it will be a new book to you. When you have finished it a second
time you will remain forever
a lover of philosophy.
If distortion is encountered,
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"Joe
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imprints, please send e-mail in your usual way.
All Encyclopædia Britannica
links require a subscription and
browser Versions 4.0 or higher.
Britannica has greatly changed; some of my links to it may
not work, sorry.
You can make your own search here.
Set your browser options to show links
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INTRODUCTION to "A
DEDICATION TO SPINOZA'S INSIGHTS":
I stumbled upon Spinoza after
I studied Calculus in college.
Spinoza's
definitions of
sorrow, boredom, joy; hate,
indifference, love, seemed to
me to lend themselves to Calculus expression.
The more I studied these
equations the
more I realized how important they were in understanding
roller-coaster
emotions and everyday relationships—you
love not out of
altruism, but
out of self-interest.
As I kept studying Spinoza, I was really hooked
when what happened to
me is what Elwes thought happened to Spinoza.
From Elwes's Introduction to his Translations of Spinoza's Works.
[37] The biography
of the philosopher supplies us in some sort
with the genesis of his
system. His youth had been passed in the
study of Hebrew learning,
of metaphysical speculations on
the
nature of the Deity.
He was then confronted with the
scientific
aspect of the world as
revealed by Descartes.
At first the two
visions seemed antagonistic,
but, as
he gazed, their outlines
blended and commingled,
he found himself in the presence not of
two, but
of ONE; the
universe unfolded itself to him as
the necessary 1D6
= ONE
result of the Perfect and Eternal G-D.
This "unfolding itself" was
to me an infinite "organic interdependence
of Importance
of 1D6 = ONE
parts"
which led directly to the "Golden
Rule"; not out of altruism
but of
enlightened self-interest.
Now, after some fifty-six
years, I am still studying Spinoza and gaining
ever-new insights.
PURPOSE of "A
DEDICATION TO SPINOZA'S INSIGHTS":
We all want Joy.
We all want Love.
We all want Peace-of-Mind.
To get
them, a profound understanding
of them helps.
Spinoza's insights
help provide such understanding.
Your understanding
minimizes your loss of Peace-of-Mind.
Aristotle
"Nicomachean
Ethics - Book I":
"Shall we not, like archers who have
a mark to aim at, be more
likely to hit upon what we should? If so, we must try, in outline
at least, to determine what it is, . . . " Bk.XIV:1:4174.
TP1:(1:4:2):288—Spinoza's
Dictum:
"I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule,
not to bewail,
E2:XLIX(69)
not to scorn human
actions, but to understand
them." George
Eliot
{Use this dictum to understand your own human
actions. Hampshire—Understanding
This is not altruistic, for there
is no such thing as altruism (by hypothesis);
Mark Twain
but for achieving the peace-of-mind
that comes with understanding. Thus, like
a Religion (Spinoza's
Religion), the dictum
is an hypothesis designed to achieve
peace-of-mind.
That does not say that Spinoza
always succeeded; but that, at his better
moments, he tried. The same can be said of us; at
our better moments, we try.}
"Book III
is valuable for showing Spinoza's Method
for achieving
Mark Twain
Wisdom (PcM):
posit G-D, define
Conatus, define an infinite
thing
by its Essence,
and define finite things by their causes.
These precise
definitions
lead to the understanding which
brings Blessedness.
Suggestions:
Do not read these Web Pages
(and the electronic texts listed below) Durant's
Story
linearly as you would
a novel, but rather follow all the links
in turn. EL:[3]:vi
You will then
be putting hypertexting to
its fullest and best Schorsch
advantage—the fuller discussion
of a thread. If
you do not stick to one Tickle
the Fancy
thread at a time,
this Web Site will be very convoluted,
confusing, and
an annoying maze.
If you prefer to read linearly,
read these plain vanilla text
versions, abridged
versions, e-book versions,
or best, study the printed book—book
page num-
bers are given
for most scanned books.
Another suggestion: select a Topic and follow all its links.
Abridgments
are in a format suitable for eBook conversion.
Only links, comments, and endnotes are abridged,
not Spinoza's Works.
For eBook Notes and abbreviations
see below.
Spinozistic Insights:
Chapter
1 - Definitions
Chapter
2 - Hypotheses
Spinozistic Calculus – Spinozistic insights expressed in Calculus & in Graphs.
Spinozistic Dialogue:
Act
1 - Definitions
Act
2 - Hypotheses
Netscape
does not work for MSR or TK3R links.
Spinozistic Ideas - HTML,
Abridgment, MSR,
AeR, TK3R.
See eBook Notes for abbreviations.
Mark Twain and Spinoza - HTML, Abridgment, MSR, AeR, TK3R.
Buddhism and Spinoza, Buddhistic Glossary and Index
Spinozistic Scriptural Interpretations
Spinozistic Glossary and Index
– Notes,
Bibliography and Citation Abbreviations.
Names, Topics
& Threads.
Spinozistic Contributions to Wikipedia – The summation of my Spinoza studies.
Jewish - Islamic Philosophy
– The root sources of Spinoza's philosophy
and
others for whom he left sources.
Columbia—A
Short Biography of Spinoza – Elwes—A
Longer Biography of Spinoza
Wolf—A Still Longer
Biography of Spinoza – Dialectical
Logic – Endnote
and Link Search
"Spinoza,
Benedict de" on Encyclopædia Britannica Online – if not
subscribed.
( All Britannica links require Versions 4.0 or higher.
Britannica has greatly changed; some of my Britannica links may not work,
sorry)
SPINOZA ELECTRONIC TEXTS HOME PAGE JBY WEB PAGES
Abridgments
are in an HTML format suitable for conversion by
eBook authoring tools.
Where an eBook Reader abbreviation
is given, the HTML has been converted
for that Reader.
For eBook Notes and abbreviations
see below.
Wolf's introduction to the Short Treatise on G-D,
Man, and his Well-Being (WST).
HTML
Short Treatise on G-D, Man, and his Well-Being (ST).
HTML, Abridgment
Elwes's Introduction – From
Book II.
JBY Paragraph Numbers, Commentary, and Links.
HTML, Abridgment,
MSR,
AeR, TK3R.
See
eBook Notes for abbreviations.
On the Improvement of the Understanding (TEI) – From Book
I.
TEXT, HTML,
Abridgment, MSR,
AeR, TK3R.
Elwes's translation, Curley's Para. #s, JBY Sentence Numbers, Commentary,
and Links.
The Ethics – From Book I.
Elwes's translation, JBY Sentence Numbers, Commentary, and Links.
TEXT –
Part I ,
Part II ,
Part III , Part
IV , Part
V
HTML
–
Part I , Part
II , Part III , Part
IV , Part V
Abridgment
– Part I ,
Part II , Part III , Part IV , Part V.
A Theologico-Political Treatise (TTP) –
From Book II. Elwes's translation,
JBY Sentence Numbers,
HTML TEXT
Part
1 –
Chapters I to V. Abridgment.
Commentary, and Links.
HTML TEXT
Part 2 – Chapters VI to X
HTML TEXT
Part 3 – Chapters XI to XV
HTML TEXT
Part 4 – Chapters XVI to XX
A Political Treatise (TP) – From
Book II. Gusset's translation,
JBY Sentence Numbers, Commentary,
HTML TEXT
Part 1 – Chapters I to V
and Links.
HTML TEXT
Part 2 – Chapters VI & VII
HTML TEXT
Part 3 – Chapters VIII to XI
The Letters - JBY Paragraph Numbers, Commentary, and Links.
Bibliography and Citation Abbreviations for these Web Pages.
Glossary and Index for these Web Pages, Names, Topics &Threads.
A MiniCD of this entire web site is available.
Please mail an enclosed
self-addressed envelope, e-mail
address, (if able) US$5.00/disk
to:
Joseph B. Yesselman
9910 Fairfax
Square - Apt. 81
Fairfax, VA 22031
Photo by Sharon Silverman, my granddaughter.
Round 8 cm (3.1") diam. Business
Card 8/6 cm (3.1"/2.3")
Your
CD drive has a miniCD groove.
If getting online is inconvenient,
difficult, costly, or downloading
distractingly slow—study Spinoza off-line
with the CD,
eBook, or
save the file to hard-disk. Off-line, off-site links will fail.
1. An "Abridgment"
listing indicates that the HTML online version is
abridged and formatted
for a specific eBook Reader conversion,
by
such authoring tools as:
Night
Kitchen for TK3R. JBY Preferred.
OverDrive
for MSR.
Adobe
for AeR.
Happy will be the day when
there is one open
standard.
2. Abbreviations for converted HTML files for a specific eBook Reader:
TK3R - TK3
Reader (file extension .tk3). JBY Preferred.
MSR - Microsoft
Reader or Franklin's
eBookman? (file extension .lit)
AeR - Adobe
Acrobat eBook Reader (file extension .pdf)
A free Reader must first have been downloaded (TK3R, MSR, AeR).
3. Omit.
4. Use Internet Explorer, if possible,
for downloading eBooks.
5. Netscape does not work
for MSR or TK3R links.
I don't know
why; experts, please help.
SPINOZA INTERNET WEB SITES, CD's,
and Societies.
I
am an eighty-four year old retired Structural Engineer who has for some
sixty-odd years
studied Spinoza whenever earning a living and having a family and friends
permitted.
I have explained my unending fascination with Spinoza in the Preface
to Spinozistic Ideas.
Joseph B. Yesselman
(1922 - )
Retired Structural
Engineer
9910 Fairfax Square
Apt. # 81
Fairfax, VA 22031- 4210
USA
703-591-3161
josephb@yesselman.com Spinoza study is a joy.
From Humbul Humanities Hub—http://www.humbul.ac.uk/output/full2.php?id=4496
The Humbul Humanities
Hub aims to be UK higher
and further education's first choice for accessing online
humanities resources.
"A Dedication to Spinoza's Insights—Joseph
B. Yesselman's Home Page"—is
a resource that investigates and participates in the philosophy
of the seventeenth-century Dutch thinker Benedict
de Spinoza (occasionally known as Baruch de Spinoza,
or simply Benedict/Baruch Spinoza).
The site's author is Joseph B.
Yesselman, a retired structural engineer who has had a lifelong
interest in the philosopher in question. Spinoza's
philosophy itself has been subject to various interpretations,
although he is perhaps best known for identifying
G-D and Nature, and
in doing so arguing that there is only one type of substance
{and
therefore all things are indivisible;
interdependent parts of one infinite organism}.
His arguments to this end can be found in his most famous publication
(albeit a posthumous one), his "Ethics".
The resource {Yesselman's
Web Pages} itself
at first appears muddled with
apparently unrelated brief sections and shorthand hyperlinks
following one another with some rapidity.
However, the author warns us that the site's content
should not be approached in the way one reads a novel,
but instead, one should "surf" the site,
following whatever hyperlinks tickle
the fancy. This proviso granted,
Yesselman provides a good deal of interesting personal insight,
particularly into Spinoza's philosophy of emotion
(and of note here is Yesselman's relating of Spinoza's
philosophy to calculus,
and to the work of Mark Twain).
The resource also contains, among other things, a
glossary of Spinoza's philosophical concepts
and definitions,
hyperlinks to Spinoza resources hosted elsewhere
on the web, bibliographical
information, and commentary and other secondary
material by Yesselman. The
wealth of information and opinion is vast, and for those who have the patience
to master the form of the resource, the
resource will prove useful.
Home Page
Revised: September 3, 2006
